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Pragmatic Activities for the Speaking Classroom B

2016 ENGLISH TEACHING SIEGELJ apanPragmatic Activities for the Speaking ClassroomBeing able to speak naturally and appropriately with others in a variety of situations is an important goal for many English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Because the skill of Speaking invariably involves interaction with people and using language to reach objectives ( , ordering food, making friends, asking for favors), it is crucial for teachers to explore Activities that help students learn the typical ways to express these and other language functions. To interact successfully in myriad contexts and with many different speakers, learners need to develop a repertoire of practical situation-dependent communicative choices. The study of how language is used in interactions is called pragmatics, and while appropriate interactions come naturally to native speakers of a language, EFL learners need to be aware of the many linguistic and strategic options available to them in certain situations.

language (EFL) learners. Because the skill of speaking invariably involves interaction with people and using language to reach objectives (e.g., ordering food, making friends, asking for favors), it is crucial for teachers to explore activities that help students learn the typical ways to express these and other language functions.

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Transcription of Pragmatic Activities for the Speaking Classroom B

1 2016 ENGLISH TEACHING SIEGELJ apanPragmatic Activities for the Speaking ClassroomBeing able to speak naturally and appropriately with others in a variety of situations is an important goal for many English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Because the skill of Speaking invariably involves interaction with people and using language to reach objectives ( , ordering food, making friends, asking for favors), it is crucial for teachers to explore Activities that help students learn the typical ways to express these and other language functions. To interact successfully in myriad contexts and with many different speakers, learners need to develop a repertoire of practical situation-dependent communicative choices. The study of how language is used in interactions is called pragmatics, and while appropriate interactions come naturally to native speakers of a language, EFL learners need to be aware of the many linguistic and strategic options available to them in certain situations.

2 Though pragmatics is an extensive field within linguistics, much Pragmatic research has focused on speech acts performed by learners and the linguistic and strategic choices they employ (Mitchell, Myles, and Marsden 2013). To use pragmatically appropriate speech, EFL users must account for not only the form and function of a second language, but the context as well (Taguchi 2015). In doing so, they will be more comfortable Speaking to interlocutors who may vary in age, gender, social class, and status (Kinginger and Farrell 2004; Ishihara and Cohen 2010). Special conversational choices are also required based on the relationship between speakers whether they know each other and for how long. In addition, conversational expectations and desired objectives can influence linguistic and strategic choices of what to say. The ability to account for and adjust to these variables when Speaking English defines one s Pragmatic competence. Despite its importance in EFL communication, the teaching of pragmatics is often overlooked in the Classroom and underrepresented in teaching materials and teacher education courses.

3 Reasons include insufficient class time, lack of interest, or inadequate recognition of its importance in interpersonal communication. There may also be a shortage of practical and achievable Activities for the Classroom that introduce and promote the development of such nuanced language use. While teachers may recognize the importance of pragmatics and want to use it in their lessons, many are unsure how to select and incorporate Pragmatic teaching Activities in EFL classes. This seems to be the case in Japan, where I teach, and I suspect the situation is similar in other EFL contexts. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how to identify Pragmatic teaching points, to introduce related Activities , and to generally 2016 ENGLISH TEACHING attention to Pragmatic Speaking ability in language classrooms. This article promotes the idea that Pragmatic skills identified and developed in EFL settings contribute to communicative success. It begins by discussing pragmatics as a general field within EFL education before moving on to present the notion of speech act sets (SASs), which are step-by-step conversational options normally used to successfully communicate a variety of language functions.

4 SASs are considered valuable tools for examining language and strategic choices made during speech production, and they also provide useful templates for language teachers who want to add a Pragmatic element to their Speaking lessons; as such, the concept of SASs is promoted in the literature in an effort to advance Pragmatic studies through a speech act perspective (Ishihara and Cohen 2010). Through comparisons of student output from two SASs for the language functions of apologizing and requesting, this article demonstrates how to identify specific Pragmatic teaching points and use them to inform Pragmatic instruction. This article also suggests Classroom Activities that teachers can use to help learners develop and refine their Pragmatic abilities in DEVELOPMENTP ragmatics has been defined as the study of language from the point of view of users, especially the choices they make .. and the effects their use of language has on other participants in the act of communication (Crystal 1997, 301).

5 The aspects of choice and effect are particularly relevant for achieving desired outcomes during interpersonal communication. In terms of Pragmatic choices, EFL learners need to be aware of the many linguistic and strategic options they can use in certain circumstances. The linguistic options will likely differ from their first language (L1); depending on the L1 and/or cultural background, the strategic alternatives in English may also be different (Blum-Kulka and Olshtain 1984). Regarding effect, learners need to understand the ramifications of utilizing different linguistic options in certain situations and contexts. Speakers are required to consider options and select among alternatives to produce contextually appropriate speech (Kasper and Rose 2002). For instance, Speaking to a friend in a cafe about a low test score may necessitate different language and strategies than talking about the same topic to the instructor who graded the test. Apologizing about forgetting a meeting with a potential employer would likely involve a different level of formality than if the meeting were with a close friend.

6 Complaints to a colleague of the same rank about working conditions would probably come out differently if made to the manager. Such situations call for the ability to operate within Pragmatic norms, which are a range of tendencies or conventions for Pragmatic language use that are .. typical or generally preferred in the L2 community (Ishihara and Cohen 2010, 13). Failure to adhere to these norms may lead to unintended consequences and unequal treatment of the speaker. On the other hand, culturally appropriate choices when interacting with different subgroups will potentially lead to more positive experiences, increased motivation, and appealing outcomes for learners. Based on this line of thinking, the following questions may be of interest to educators involved in intercultural communication and Speaking classes: Do students have an appropriate linguistic and strategic range to vary their speech depending on context? Do they understand the consequences of using one utterance or strategy over another?

7 How can Pragmatic instruction be implemented in second language (L2) classrooms?It is important for students to be conscious of their options and the consequences that result from appropriate and inappropriate choices. Even though L1 patterns for language functions may differ from L2 patterns, 2016 ENGLISH TEACHING the importance of pragmatics, educators teaching spoken interaction may want to include Pragmatic elements in will benefit from familiarity with appropriate L2 SASs. This awareness will allow them to communicate within standard organization patterns that native language users expect, although language learners may not always have the goal of attaining native-like fluency, and the relevance of native speaker norms is changing (McKay 2003). However, given the importance of pragmatics, educators teaching spoken interaction may want to include Pragmatic elements in lessons. SASs offer a straightforward way of identifying specific areas in need of development and assessing Pragmatic ACT SETS (SASs)As noted earlier, an SAS is a group of possible strategies that speakers may employ when performing a speech act.

8 For instance, there is a specific SAS for apologizing, another for requesting, and another for thanking. These SASs include strategic options, linguistic moves, and semantic formulas that allow users to accomplish a given function. They consist of patterns of output in an effort to establish frameworks and options typically employed for specific purposes. As this article relates to EFL learners and teachers in particular, English-based SASs are used; however, SAS patterns may vary by language and linguistic moves for two SASs displayed in Figure 1 apologizing and requesting are based on Ishihara and Cohen (2010) and the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (2015). (Note: Letters in parentheses are referred to in the analysis and discussion.) These formulaic groups of Pragmatic routines provide language educators with practical, research-based archetypes with which to compare their students output. Teachers can research the Pragmatic routines and conduct needs analyses (Brown 1995) to both inform their instructional decisions and elucidate the Pragmatic evolution of learners.

9 For example, a small-scale research project I conducted with Japanese EFL learners revealed where to focus attention on their Pragmatic Speaking ability. For the study, learners responded to situational prompts to apologize to a friend and request a ride from someone. Based on findings from that study, I identified certain linguistic and strategic options that were missing from student responses and used that data to incorporate Speaking Activities that targeted Pragmatic competence. Similar Activities are presented in Table 1 (apology output) and Table 2 (request output). Potential teaching points and pedagogic options for the Classroom follow each table. Lowercase letters after each step correspond to the SASs depicted in Figure 1. ApologizingExpressing the apology (a)Taking responsibility (b)Explaining the situation (c)Offering repair or compensation (d)Promising it won t happen again (e)RequestingGetting attention (a)Head act (the actual request) (b)Supporting moves (moderates request can come before or after the head act) (c)Figure 1.

10 Speech act sets for apologizing and requesting2016 ENGLISH TEACHING A: I m sorry I forget my note at my house (a). If we have time for project mm, ah, meeting, I m sorry I come back to my house (possibly d). Example B: I m so sorry I left my note in my house (a). If you have time today, I can I back to my house and bring my note? (d) Or if you don t have time, can I change meeting schedule? (d)Example C: I m sorry I forget my notes (a), so could you take me some notes?Example D: Ah, I forget my notebook. Sorry (a), ah please give me just a moment, so I go back to ah, Classroom last Classroom , Classroom to get, to get to bring the my notes (d). I ll be back 1. Students apology speech samplesAPOLOGY SCENARIOThe students Pragmatic ability to apologize is depicted in Table 1. According to the scenario, the speaker must apologize to a classmate because the speaker forgot to bring a notebook to a study session. Here is the prompt (adapted from Taguchi 2014): Apology scenario: You and your friend, Jessica, are working on a class project together.


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